shadowland

by Radclyffe

  Dimly, in the last part of her thinking mind, she knew she could break the spell of her own bondage with a word to Dane. But she didn’t want to escape. She wanted to feel. She wanted to experience the sensations Dane aroused in her. She wanted to know how far into her physical self Dane could take her.

  Much more than she wanted to come, she wanted to know.

  A slight motion near her feet told her that Dane had moved onto the bed. She sensed that Dane was close to her, but she did not open her eyes. Suddenly a sharp sensation centered in each nipple as Dane’s hands caught her breasts, squeezing the erect nipples sharply. Kyle gasped at the unexpected contact, her back arching, pressing more of herself into Dane’s hands. The entire surface of her body was sensitized with need and her clitoris twitched urgently.

  Kyle understood that she was not to speak, but the pressure in her depths begged for release. She moaned softly.

  Dane continued to flick the tight nipples until she brought a choked cry from Kyle’s parted lips. Only then did she trail her fingers ever so lightly down Kyle’s abdomen, watching the tense muscles contract at her touch. Deftly she pulled the snap at Kyle’s waist and slid the zipper down on her leather pants. Leaving Kyle for an instant, she released the buckles on the ankle restraints to free Kyle’s legs and remove the last vestige of her clothing. Just as quickly, she re-secured her ankles. Now Kyle lay helplessly bound and completely naked. The dark triangle of soft hair between her legs glistened with the evidence of her desire. Dane could almost taste her.

  Forcing herself to lie still, Kyle waited desperately for the next contact, burning inside and out. Where is she? Oh God, let her touch me soon. I can’t stand it. I can’t. I can’t. She moaned again.

  What Kyle could not discern through the heady mist of her own desire was the control that Dane now exercised on her own raging senses. The image of Kyle lying helpless before her, ripe with readiness, was powerfully erotic. She longed to press herself full-length against Kyle’s naked body and feel skin against her skin. She was wet and hard, had been since they’d danced, but she ignored her insistent urge for relief to concentrate all her attention on bringing Kyle to the razor’s edge of ecstasy. She held back her own need, knowing it was not yet time. Soon.

  Kneeling upright between Kyle’s spread legs, Dane slipped the leather belt from around her waist and placed it vertically down the length of Kyle’s body, the buckle resting between her breasts. The soft tongue of leather was pressed into the triangle between Kyle’s legs. The edges of the belt rode against her distended clitoris, and she knew that the roughness against the exposed nerves would push Kyle closer to orgasm. With the thin barrier of leather between them, Dane finally rested her body fully upon Kyle for the first time, her hands lifting Kyle’s hips to meet her own as she sought Kyle’s mouth.

  Kyle fought against her restraints for the first time, wanting connection, needing to feel flesh against her own tormented flesh. Her mouth opened to pull Dane inside, and still she could not get enough. She wrenched her head away from Dane’s seeking lips.

  “Please, no more,” Kyle groaned. “Please, please...I have to come.”

  “I'll decide.” Dane’s voice was harsh with barely restrained urgency as she thrust her denim-clad hips tantalizingly against Kyle.

  Kyle sobbed deep in her chest and turned her face once again to Dane, claiming her lips. As their mouths found each other and their tongues met in a probing duel, Dane lifted her body slightly and slipped one hand between them. Her fingers slipped into Kyle’s wetness, and Kyle moaned into her mouth. Then she was inside of her, and Kyle’s muscles contracted around her hand. Slowly Dane pressed further, feeling the flesh open beneath her. With her thumb beneath the thin tongue of leather she beat an insistent rhythm against Kyle’s clitoris. When Kyle cried out, Dane closed her eyes tightly and clenched her jaw, determined to resist her own rising need.

  Kyle, however, would not be denied. Her body arched and bucked as she closed around the fullness of Dane’s hand. Ripples of pleasure raced along her thighs and coiled through her belly. A strangled cry escaped her lips as the pounding in her head fused with that in her body, and her orgasm crested in one wave of unbound fury.

  “Oh yesohyes...”

  Dane gripped her firmly, riding out the raging storm.

  Kyle had barely begun to relax from the paroxysms of pleasure when Dane reached up and released the restraints on her arms and then her ankles. Dimly, she was aware of Dane gently massaging her wrists and then rolling her over onto her stomach. Drifting on the edge of consciousness, she was jolted back to the moment when Dane stretched naked along her back and pressed urgently against her hips. Pushing upward to meet Dane’s downward thrusts, Kyle curled an arm back to encircle Dane’s neck, holding her closer. Dane’s breath seared over her neck in ragged bursts as she worked herself toward orgasm against Kyle’s body.

  “Yes, yes,” Kyle whispered, her heart pounding wildly as she felt Dane shudder. “Come on, baby. Let it go.”

  Kyle wanted nothing more than to bring Dane the same pleasure she had just experienced. Wanted it so much she hurt. When Dane gasped brokenly and jerked erratically, fingers clenched on Kyle’s upper arms, Kyle thought her head would explode. There would be bruises. She didn’t care; she welcomed them, exulted in the intensity of Dane’s desire. When Dane stiffened and groaned, Kyle smiled triumphantly.

  *

  When Kyle opened her eyes, she had the impression that it was morning, just barely. There was no hint of sunshine through the shuttered windows and no noise in the building. She lay quietly in the thin gray light, adjusting to the unfamiliar surroundings and the even stranger sensation of awakening with a woman beside her. Dane, naked and pressed close against her back, slept deeply. The slow, steady rise and fall of her breasts was a quiet comfort against Kyle’s skin. Even in sleep, Dane related possessively to Kyle’s body. She held Kyle as if she always had, one arm curved around her middle and her fingers lightly clasping Kyle’s breast. Oddly, Kyle was at ease with Dane’s presence, even though she almost always slept alone and wasn’t used to being held even when she did share her bed.

  How did I get here? And who are you?

  Carefully, she drew her hand up to cover the one holding her breast. She pressed Dane’s fingers to her flesh. Warm. Pleasantly rough skinned. Real.

  At the touch, her body stirred with memory.

  Closing her eyes, she replayed the night’s events. She remembered Dane collapsing as her climax ebbed, silent except for her uneven breaths, her body trembling like a thoroughbred after a hard run. Her cheek had been soft against the damp skin of Kyle’s neck, her fingers gentle on Kyle’s upper arms. The satisfaction Kyle found in Dane’s pleasure had been exquisite. Knowing she had excited Dane that much was tremendously arousing. Just remembering the sensation of Dane driving against her, desperate to orgasm, made her hard again. She tensed her thighs, knowing she was wet and already ready.

  She wanted it all again. She wanted Dane’s touch; she wanted Dane to take her to that plane where every cell was alive with sensation, where it was impossible not to feel. And even more, she wanted the ultimate satisfaction of forcing Dane to lose control. She lusted to ignite Dane’s passion, because Dane’s orgasm was her power.

  Tense with renewed excitement, Kyle unconsciously pushed her hips back against Dane’s body. Murmuring faintly, Dane stirred and tightened her hold. Kyle wasn’t certain Dane was awake until she felt the slight pressure against her breast become a gentle massaging motion and fingers tugging lightly at her nipple. Closing her eyes, Kyle focused on the aching point of pleasure. When the hand left her breast and moved to her abdomen, circling in slow, firm arcs, Kyle arched her back as pressure built between her thighs. She tried to steady her breathing, but every caress inflamed her more.

  No words were spoken as Dane pressed her mouth to the back of Kyle’s shoulder and bit gently, sliding her hand lower at the same time. Gasping softly, Kyle shifted to allow Dane to slip a han
d between her thighs. When Dane found her clitoris and began gently circling, Kyle whimpered quietly. Each teasingly slow stroke brought her closer, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to ask—to beg—Dane to press harder, but knew instinctively that she would be denied. She would wait, as long as it took. She closed her fingers on Dane’s wrist, but did not try to guide her. A trail of fire burned down the inside of her thighs, and her stomach clenched.

  “Pleas—”

  “Shh.” Dane ran her tongue along the rim of Kyle’s ear. “Feel me.”

  Dane leaned up on one elbow, her hand still between Kyle’s legs as Kyle fell back. She eased one finger deep inside the waiting warmth and watched Kyle’s eyes lose focus. A twist of desire so sharp it hurt slashed through her. God, she’s beautiful. Gently, she stroked.

  Kyle stared wordlessly into Dane’s blue eyes, her breath catching when she saw her own desire reflected there. She held the hypnotic gaze as Dane filled her, one finger at a time. She’d come soon, was building to it, holding Dane fast. She still gripped Dane’s wrist, her fingers digging into flesh and bone, feeling Dane take her.

  Dane watched the orgasm rise in Kyle’s face, and just before it broke, she slipped out and quickly slid onto Kyle, her thigh gliding easily between Kyle’s legs.

  “Oh,” Kyle cried softly. Dane’s smooth skin rubbed over her clitoris, triggering the first spasms of release. She tightened around Dane’s leg and pushed hard against her.

  “Don’t,” Dane warned, growing still.

  Kyle struggled not to surrender, to hold the pleasure at bay, to wait until Dane gave her permission. She closed her eyes as Dane rocked her hips, then met her thrusts as the cadence of their passion became a force of its own. For moments beyond knowing, she trembled on the brink of completion, but finally, the pulse of blood and nerves grew too strong to contain, and she broke.

  “I’m coming,” she whispered, her face pressed to Dane’s neck, hands clutching the straining back.

  “Wait,” Dane gasped, even as she felt Kyle arch with the first wave of release. Nearly blind with the pounding pressure threatening to explode her entire body, she thrust harder along Kyle’s thigh. Then fire burst from her belly and burned along her spine. “Ah...God!”

  Her cry carried Kyle beyond anything she’d experienced into a swirling chaos of sensation. The only reality was Dane, and she clung to her as their bodies stormed and their senses raged. At that instant, she was as close to anyone as she had ever been in her life.

  Chapter Four

  Kyle opened her eyes and blinked. This time sunshine streaked the room. She turned her head on the pillow and discovered Dane propped up beside her, smoking a cigarette, the covers resting across her naked thighs. It was the first time Kyle had seen her nude. Her body was lean and tanned, her breasts small and high. There was an old scar, white and thin, angled over her ribs and down the right side of her abdomen. Kyle wanted to draw her fingers over it but held back. Dane had not asked to be touched, she realized. Had not let Kyle touch her when they’d made love. Made love...or had sex? No, whatever it was, it was something more than sex.

  “Good morning,” Dane said softly. She looked for the questions she knew would be in Kyle’s eyes. She looked for the regret, too. She wanted to run her fingers through the thick tousled hair, but she held back.

  “Hi,” Kyle said, stretching languorously. Her muscles were sore, the result, she thought idly, of coming so hard while restrained. Restrained. Jesus. Beneath the aching stiffness, she felt wonderful. “What time is it?”

  “Uh.” Dane faltered, confused by the unanticipated question and by the sudden light in Kyle’s eyes. “About ten, I think.”

  Kyle laughed. “Indulgent, aren’t we?”

  “Do you mind?” Dane’s tone was cautious.

  “Not at all.” Taking a chance, Kyle turned, resting her head against Dane’s bare shoulder and her palm on Dane’s stomach. “You?”

  “No.” Dane hesitated, then twined her fingers into Kyle’s thick hair. Surprised at how true that was, and how unexpected, Dane stared at the large yet finely sculpted hand that gently stroked her abdomen. “Are you...hungry?”

  “I think I might be, as soon as my body wakes up.”

  Kyle listened to Dane’s heart beat and continued to caress her. She knew absolutely nothing about her, except that being with Dane physically had touched her in places she hadn’t known existed. “Do you have to be anywhere this morning?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.” Dane sighed. “I usually make it a point never to work on Saturday, but today I have an appointment.”

  Kyle wasn’t sure what to say or do next. In her experience, after a night of sex some women preferred to just say goodbye in the morning, careful never to dispel the mystery of a brief encounter by dealing with the ordinary demands of daily living. Kyle herself had often felt uncomfortable with a stranger in her house in the morning, finding that the woman she had desired in the late-night hours was not someone she wanted to face across the breakfast table. She didn’t feel that way now. Still, she asked, “Would you rather I left?”

  Dane regarded her curiously, but, out of long habit, kept her surprise at Kyle’s straightforwardness concealed. “No. I’d rather you made some coffee.”

  Kyle’s eyes narrowed speculatively as she studied Dane’s face, unable to read anything in the strong, even features. Is this another scene? Or a test?

  “All right.”

  “The kitchen—”

  “I’ll find it.” Kyle slid out from under the covers and dug around in the pile of clothing on the floor for her shirt.

  Dane smiled, admiring Kyle’s naked backside as she left the room. Then she leaned back, closed her eyes, and listened to the sounds emanating from the kitchen. Soon she could smell coffee brewing. It surprised her to realize that she was enjoying herself, enjoying these first non-sexual moments with Kyle. Usually she found her bed partners disappointingly boring, and often discovered she hadn’t a single thing to say to them. She tried not to bring women home for a scene, but when she did, she had gotten into the habit of finding some excuse to get them out of her apartment as quickly as possible. Her reluctance to become involved with anyone for more than a night had enhanced her reputation in the club as a loner. That suited her just fine, since it released her from the pressure of being sociable. No one expected it of her. She remained something of an enigma and accountable to no one.

  That morning the situation had been very different than what she was used to. When she’d awakened next to Kyle, she hadn’t experienced her typical compulsion to escape. She’d felt...good. Holding Kyle had seemed natural, and when the easy comfort had spiraled into hunger, the lovemaking had come naturally, too. Kyle had read Dane’s body language well, which wasn’t all that common, and just looking at her made Dane hot. More than hot...an aching want deep inside. Dane felt a twitch of arousal and smiled, leisurely drawing her hand down her stomach and between her legs. Still hard. The light touch made her shiver, and she moved her hand away.

  It wasn’t just the exceptionally fine sex that had been a surprise. Kyle wasn’t what she’d expected, either. She must have had questions, but she hadn’t asked. She must have wanted something, but she hadn’t pushed. Her calm acceptance of what had happened between them and her relaxed approach to the morning put Dane at ease. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t sure of what was going to happen. Or what she wanted to happen. That was both exciting and disquieting.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by Kyle’s return with two steaming mugs of coffee. Dane took one cup and pulled the blankets back for Kyle to crawl under.

  “So, how are you this morning?” Dane ventured. She sipped her coffee gratefully and stretched one leg out over Kyle’s.

  “Fine.” Kyle considered what else to say. Dane was so hard to read. “I guess you know last night was new for me.”

  “You mean sleeping with a woman?”

  “Of course not,” Kyle flared. Looking quickly at Dane,
she caught the twinkle in her eyes. “Very cute. No, I meant sleeping with a woman in quite that way.”

  “I knew. Did you...enjoy it?” Even as Dane spoke, she wondered why she’d asked. What does it matter? She got off; she got what she was looking for. What else is there?

  “Yes, I did.” Kyle almost smiled at that understatement. “It wasn’t what I expected.”

  “What do you mean?” Dane couldn’t remember any longer how she’d felt at the beginning. She had changed so much since then. Usually, she wasn’t interested in how other women felt about their encounters with her. They all seemed to have their reasons for seeking her kind of company, and she rarely took the time to understand what those motivations might be. The women had chosen to have an encounter with her; she always made certain they understood what that would mean. Sometimes it was good and sometimes it wasn’t. With Kyle, it had been better than good. And how she felt about it seemed to matter.

  “In some ways it was more than I anticipated,” Kyle began carefully. “It was more natural than I had thought it would be, for one thing.”

  “Oh?” Dane replied, raising an eyebrow, instantly on guard. “Did you expect it to be unnatural?”

  “No—I guess I thought it would be more contrived.” Kyle had heard the challenge in Dane’s voice but thought she understood the defensiveness. She wasn’t naïve, only inexperienced, and she knew that a good many people would not approve of what the two of them had shared. “Somehow, I couldn’t imagine just feeling when there were so many other things going on. The roles we both played—the separateness of our positions.” The fact that I couldn’t touch you. “I thought I would be too self-conscious to really get into it physically.”

  “For some women I think that happens. They can’t...let go. They can’t enjoy not knowing what will happen next.” Dane had never talked about these things with anyone she’d had sex with. In fact, only a few friends knew how she felt. How did I end up saying these things to you? “They discover they don’t like it, and that’s fine.”